President of Macao's Court of Final Appeal Sam Hou-fai said Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR)'s judicial system has adopted measures to uphold the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" and to strictly carry out the Basic Law in safeguarding national sovereignty.

Since Macao's return to the motherland in 1999, the SAR administrative and legislative bodies have accelerated its legislative pace under the Macao SAR Basic Law, Sam recalled. 

Macao's judicial system, from enactment to execution, has been improved and perfected so that it safeguards national sovereignty, security and development interests, he stressed. 

"An independent judicial system commensurate with the SAR's condition has been established under the 'One Country, Two Systems' policy and the Basic Law of Macao which accords with 'Macao people governing Macao,'" said Sam.

"Without the premise of 'One Country,' all constitutional arrangements under the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems' will be crushed." 

Sam became president of the Court of Final Appeal in 1999.

Prior to the return, Macao's judicial system, a sub-judiciary district of the Portuguese legal system, was affiliated to the Judiciary District of Lisbon, according to the court chief.

To build an independent judicial system in Macao, China's National People's Congress, the Preparatory Committee of the Macao SAR, the chief executive and the Legislative Assembly of the SAR have made great efforts to accurately interpret and apply the Basic Law of Macao so as to fully implement the "One Country, Two Systems" policy. 

The region has created and adopted 290 laws and 628 administrative regulations as of November 2019, according to the Legal Affairs Bureau of the SAR government.

To implement Article 23 of the Basic Law and ensure the stability of the region, for example, the SAR made a law in 2009 prohibiting behavior that negatively affects the national security.